The Argument
by Justis76
Summary: Phoenix and Maya are not too happy with each other... Phoenix/Maya.


**A/N: Happy Phoenix/Maya Day! Here's another fic I wrote.**

**...**

Defendant Lobby No. 1

10:00 AM

…

"Nick man, you've got to get me out of here! I swear I didn't kill him, you know me!" Larry begs as the trial is about to start.

"Larry, relax. From what I can tell, the evidence against you is circumstantial at best, and I'm up against Payne, who's a total pushover. I'll have you out of here in no time." I promise him. It's true, this case will probably be an easy one. Which is good, since I doubt my assistant is going to want to help me this time around.

Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Maya glaring at me. As soon as I turn to look at her, she turns her head away and crosses her arms. _Maya... Please don't be like this..._

…

"The prosecution is ready, Your Honor." Payne says, seeming as arrogant as ever despite being one of the most incompetent lawyers around.

"The defense is ready, Your Honor." I declare.

"Well not really, but Nick's just going to bluff and hope for the best like he always does." Maya mutters beside me.

"Excuse me?" _Did she seriously just say that?_

Payne giggles from across the prosecutor's bench. "Having a bit of trouble managing your assistant, Wright?"

"Shut up, Payne!" I shout.

"Mr. Wright! I will not have you use that sort of tone in my court!" The judge scolds.

"Geez Nick, could you be more unprofessional?" Maya laughs coldly.

"OK, seriously? What is your problem?" I ask angrily. "You're acting like a brat!"

"Well excuse me for being a bit irritated after you _stood me up_!" Maya yells.

The audience breaks out into murmurs ranging from "What a jerk!" to "I knew those two were dating!"

"Order! Order!" The judge yells as he slams his gavel down. "Mr. Wright, is what Ms. Fey says true?"

"W-well it's not... exactly... like that." I stutter.

"Yes it is!" Maya insists stubbornly.

"No it's not!" I retort. "First off, let's set the record straight. It wasn't an actual date. We were just going to the movies."

"Not just any movie! It was the Aluminum Samurai movie! I've been waiting to see it for months, you know I was! And I wanted to see it with _you, _Nick!" Maya stresses the last part of her rebuttal, making me feel even guiltier than I already do.

"I know! And I _wanted_ to see the movie with you. It's not like I stood you up on purpose. I was about to head to the movies last night when suddenly Franziska von Karma called-" I start to explain.

"Oh I see. So one call from Ms. von Karma and you throw all your other plans out the window?" Maya accuses me.

"Of course not! Now would you just let me finish? Anyways, she said she needed to talk to me immediately, and that it was about the case tomorrow. I tried to make her say whatever it was about on the phone so that I could just go straight to the movies, but she wouldn't have it. I thought it might be urgent, and the address she gave me for her house wasn't too far away from the movies anyways, so I decided to stop at her house quickly on the way there." I continue.

"Tsk tsk. Standing up your date to go see another woman. I'm don't know how I feel about that." The judge mutters.

"I know how I feel." Maya butts in. Then, in a much quieter voice, she adds "Betrayed." I swear she's trying to make me feel like a total jerk.

"It wasn't a date! And besides, I thought it would only take a minute, honest!" I plead. "So when I got there, Franziska, who was supposed to be prosecutor today, said there was no way she was going to take part in the trial. Apparently she totally hates Larry and wouldn't be able to put up with his 'foolish foolishness' any more. After I was pretty sure that was all she wanted to say, I tried to leave, but then she went on this rant about Larry for hours! And I tried to tell her that I had to leave because I had to go to the movies with you, but every time I interrupted her she whipped me and kept going! By the time I got out of there and made it to the movies, I was three hours late and you were already gone." I finish, hoping that Maya forgives me now that she knows what really happened.

"Well... You could have at least called me after! I had no idea what was going on, Nick!" Maya protests.

"I would have, but while I was listening to Franziska's rant my cell phone died! By the time I got back to my apartment and had access to a phone, it was already past 1 AM. I figured you would have been sleeping, so I decided to just tell you in the morning. And don't pretend that I'm the only bad guy here. I mean, you came to my apartment out of the blue, woke me up from my sleep at 3 AM, and yelled at me so loudly that you woke the neighbours up! Don't you think that was overreacting a bit? I thought I was in some horrible nightmare, I could have sworn your eyes were actually glowing red!"

"I came to your apartment at 3 AM because I couldn't sleep! I waited for you to show up for two hours, Nick, and you never did! I was so angry with you, I couldn't believe that you would just leave me waiting there for so long and not even tell me you're not coming!" Maya shouts. "Then I waited by the phone for hours, and by the time it was 2 I started worrying that something might have happened to you. I was worried sick! So yes, I came by at 3 to make sure you weren't _dead_! And yes, my eyes probably were red. But that was from crying for so long, you... you jerk! I was terrified that something bad had happened, but when I came to check on you, you were just sleeping away as if nothing was wrong. Do you have any idea how that feels?"

"I... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings." I apologize sincerely. "But you really don't need to worry about me that much, Maya."

"Of course I do!" Maya argues, on the verge of tears. "I... I love you, you idiot!"

I stumble for the right words to say, but nothing comes out of my mouth. The rest of the court accompanies me in stunned silence.

"Uh... Isn't there supposed to be a trial going on?" Payne asks, looking as confused as ever.

The question seems to cause the judge to recall his surroundings. "Ah, yes. I'm going to allow a 10-minute recess for the defense team to sort out their issues, then the trial will reconvene."

…

Defendant Lobby No. 1

10:20 AM

…

As soon as we enter the defendant lobby, I grab Maya and pull her into a hug.

"I am so, so, so sorry. I swear, if I had been able to get to the movies somehow, I would have gone. You know I would much rather have been with you than Franziska. Honestly, there's no one else I would have preferred to be with. I love you too, Maya."

"Nick... crushing... me..." Maya grunts.

"Oops, sorry!" I apologize again, relinquishing my grasp of her. Tears are streaming down Maya's face, but the big grin she's wearing means she's probably willing to stop being mad at me.

"I forgive you Nick." She tells me as she stands on her tiptoes and kisses me on the cheek. "And I'm sorry if I overreacted a little this morning."

"It's alright." I assure her. "Hey, as soon as this trial's over I'm taking you to see that Tin Foil Samurai movie."

"It's Aluminum Samurai." Maya corrects me.

"Same difference."

"Sounds good! But you have to buy my ticket."

"Alright."

"And a really big bag of popcorn to make up for not showing last night."

"Sounds fair."

"Plus a really big drink to wash it down, obviously."

"OK."

"And then you're taking me for burgers after."

"... Fine."

"Awesome! Then it's a date." Maya declares.

"A date... I like the sound of that. Now come on, we should probably get back in there and save Larry before he has a nervous breakdown."

Maya laughs. "Alright, let's go. But win this one quickly Nick, I'm getting hungry just thinking about the burgers!"

Maya and I walk back to the courtroom, hand in hand.


End file.
